It appears Daley has picked up one hell of a scrap for what he says will be the final bout of his storied MMA career.
If Paul Daley is all set to ride off into the sunset, it looks like he’s signed himself up for one last showdown before he goes. Back in January, Daley told the MMA Hour that he was all set to walk away from his storied cage-fighting career. All he was looking for was one last big fight in front of a hometown crowd.
“After many years in the game, the hours on the road, hours in the gym, the years have caught up with me and now every morning I wake up with a bad back, and I’m just tired,” Daley admitted, adding that he hasn’t felt able to devote his complete focus to fighting lately.
But, if he’s also adamant that a final bout in front of UK fans is just what he needs to stay motivated in the gym, it sounds like he’s got his wish. First reported by Michael Morgan of WhoaTV, MMA Fighting has confirmed that Daley is set to face off against former Bellator champ Andrey Koreshkov on May 13th at the SSE Arena in London, England.
Koreshkov (25-4) will enter this bout fresh off a brutal first round TKO of former UFC welterweight Chance Rencountre, just this last Saturday at Bellator 274. The bout, which lasted just 38 seconds, resulted in multiple broken ribs and a punctured lung, courtesy one of Koreshkov’s famed spinning back kicks. Koreshkov won Bellator gold with a decision win over Douglas Lima back in 2015, but lost the belt to Lima in a rematch one year later. Currently, the Russian is on a 3-fight win streak.
For Daley (43-18-2), this fight will represent his 14th under the Bellator banner, having joined the promotion way back in 2015 following what was then an already storied 12-year MMA career. That included stints in the UFC and Strikeforce alongside numerous smaller regional promotions. Daley last competed in 2021, dropping a unanimous decision to Jason Jackson at Bellator 260. That loss broke a 3-fight win streak for ‘Semtex’, including highlight reel KO’s of Sabah Homasi and Saad Awad.
Alongside the 170 lb action-bout, Bellator London is expected to feature a welterweight title fight between champion Yaroslav Amosov and noted KO-artist Michael ‘Venom’ Page. A middleweight fight between Lyoto Machida and Fabian Edwards is also planned for the event.